Congress dubs BJP charge 'fakery and falsehood', accuses it of denigrating state's 'swabhimaan'
Karnataka sovereignty row
New Delhi, May 8: Amid a controversy over Sonia Gandhi's Karnataka sovereignty remark, the Congress on Monday dubbed the BJP's charge "fakery and falsehood" and accused the ruling party of denigrating the state's "swabhimaan".
On the last day of campaign for the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, Congress general secretary in-charge of the state Randeep Surjewala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer on corruption charges against his party's government and added excuses cannot be the refuge of BJP in this election.
"The desperation of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP is glaring as they seek to clutch at straws for want of a narrative in Karnataka. We reject the fakery and falsehood being perpetuated by PM as he refuses to answer a single question on why BJP is denigrating the 'swabhimaan' of Karnataka," the Congress leader said in a statement.
He said the prime minister should answer why the BJP-Shiv Sena government of Maharashtra has extended its schemes to 865 villages in Karnataka.
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"Is this not naked breach of federalism? Why are Kannadiga youths not being permitted to take CRPF exam in Kannada by the Modi government? Why was the tableau of Narayan Guru not permitted by the Modi government in the Republic Day parade?" he asked.
The Congress leader said, "The PM should answer on the '40 per cent commission BJP Sarkara'. Excuses cannot be the refuge of BJP in this election."
The Congress has accused the BJP dispensation in Karnataka of engaging in rampant corruption and "taking 40 per cent commission in all kinds of work done by the government".
The BJP on Monday moved the Election Commission seeking action against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and derecognition of her party for her use of the term "sovereignty" for Karnataka during the state poll campaign. The party also demanded an FIR against her.
In a blistering attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Modi on Sunday accused the party of openly advocating for "separating" Karnataka from India.
The prime minister's charge came a day after former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed a campaign rally in Hubballi.
The Congress referring to her speech in a tweet said Gandhi, who is the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson, "sends a strong message to 6.5 crore Kannadigas". It also posted pictures of Gandhi speaking at the public meeting.
"The Congress will not allow anyone to pose a threat to Karnataka's reputation, sovereignty or integrity," the tweet read.
Polling to elect 224 members of the Karnataka assembly will be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13. The campaigning came to an end on Monday.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
